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My Prayer…My Song…Draw Me Nearer

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. (James‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ HCSB)

Today I share another hymn I learned in Sunday School.  It seems as though we sang it every Sunday.  It was meaningful to me as a child, even though at the time I had no idea all that it really meant. But as I began to grow and mature in my faith, this hymn became part of my daily prayer life. I wasn’t concerned with Him drawing near to me…I always felt that I knew He was there in some kind of way I could not explain.  The burden was on me to draw near to Him!  I think one of the reasons I found this song so meaningful was because of its first person construct.  I took those words and made them mine…

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

I also liked playing this song because it was in my favorite key and the rhythm could be translated into soulful singing.  I still enjoy playing and singing this hymn.  There is nothing better than hearing a seasoned, Spirit-filled soloist pray this song.

HOW THIS HYMN HAS SHAPED MY LIFE:
From the moment I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, I KNEW I belonged to Him and I truly believed that I had heard Him profess His love for me.  Back then I knew that John 3:16 told me that God loves “whosoever believes in Him.”  And, I always believed that whosoever had my name on it!  I, Frankye, am Thine, O, LORD…but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.  As my faith continued to mature, the desire of my heart was to increase in faith and live so close to Him that I could feel Him breathe on me.  I wanted everything I did to please Him!  BUT I was still far from it…

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

Becoming a mother was the greatest responsibility God has given me.  Later becoming a single mother was an even greater responsibility.   But where motherhood and single-parenting are concerned, this, I believe, is my life’s greatest purpose.   I asked God to consecrate me to serve, nurture, and bring these lives that He had entrusted to my care to the fullness of His plan for them when He created them.  As I began to fully grasp His grace, looking up in hope to Him and surrendering my will to His, became priorities in my life.  Did I do that perfectly?  Was I the perfect mother?  The perfect single parent?  The perfect grace-filled follower of Jesus that I desired to be?   No, no, no, no…

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

It was during those times of trying to fulfill this particular responsibility He had given me that I discovered just how badly I needed to stay close to Him.  He had trusted ME to do the job of two people, but I believe it was because He KNEW His Holy Sprit would always be at my beck and call!  And He knew I would holler for help!  It was during these years that I realized just how serious this hymn and this scripture were to my life and its fruit. I very quickly found I needed to be in constant communion with Him EVERY DAY!  My pastor’s wife at the time was one who had established a practice that lasted her whole life.  She sometimes referred to it as  “goin’ down in knee-bone valley.”  We often spoke of it as “quiet time”–an appointment that we had every day that could not be cancelled.  And, even though we frequently shared quiet times, she taught me the importance of the pure delight of that single hour…half hour…three hours…15 minutes…spent consciously aware of His Presence with our minds “stayed on Him!”   Spending time with Him like we spent with one another…friend communing with friend.  

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

I sincerely believe that the practice of spending time with Christ everyday keeps me aware of His Presence all day long.  We have no real need to invoke His Presence–He is here before we get there–we just need to ask to realize and acknowledge His Awesome Presence!

How different our lives would be if we were consciously aware of the Presence of the Almighty with us all day long.  Little did I know that this practice begun so long ago would carry me through many a day ahead. Later on the journey, God entrusted me with more responsibility for the sake of His Kingdom.  You see, He had been preparing me with those three awesome gifts He had given me for an even more difficult (at least it seemed that way to me) responsibility.  I had experienced the “call to ministry” at age 15, and had not a clue what it meant. The church of my upbringing clarified it for me;  “a call to healthcare  and music,” which I did for twenty plus years and tried my best to do as unto the LORD.  By the time I was 39-40, I began struggling with something that had come up in one of my quiet times and seemed to come up everywhere I turned.  After much struggle and prayer, I heard God clearly (through many avenues) and this time, I said a wearied “yes” to the LORD.  Yes, it was weary!  I just gave in to what would not go away!  That weariness soon turned to great fear when I considered what it meant, but the one thing I knew is that this would draw me closer to God, if I did it God’s way.  And I was determined to do it His Way…

THE ORIGIN OF THE HYMN:  Allow me to introduce you to my Sacred Music Professor in Divinity School, C. Michael Hawn, a great man of God, blessed with  spiritual gifts and talents that he uses for the sake of the Body of Christ. I remember the days singing with the Seminary Singers under his capable and Spirit-led direction; I so appreciate the memories of how he cared about the applicable meaning of every song we sang.  Click here to read Dr. Hawn’s account:  History of Hymns

What I can tell you nearly 30 years later is that the weary “yes,” has given me many of those times when He was so close I could literally feel Him breathe on me.  Those times usually came after times of great trial and turmoil while trying to be “as Christ” to all kinds of diverse people at different levels of spiritual maturity.  That weariness was transformed into “joy unspeakable.”

Weariness turned to Joy?  In every responsibility He has ever given me!  My three children, awesome people, are very different personalities–having the opportunity to live in the house with them and they with me, sometimes enduring great struggle, drew us all nearer to Christ.  Likewise, many of the people I have served have been awesome and we have all been drawn nearer to Christ by the journey we shared.  I think it all stems from the bountiful grace of drawing near to God that we have been given.  Are you a single parent today, struggling to try to give your children your very best?  Trying to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD?”  Are you weary of the world’s pull on them?  Ask God to draw you nearer…

Pastor, are you growing weary of the complacency and downright sin that plagues the Church?  Do you feel like giving up?  Ask God to draw you nearer…

My “knee-bone valley friend,” in her final months on planet earth, often spoke of sliding down the streets of gold when she arrived in Gloryland;  I envision it being like a child with a new bike or skateboard; that image of her comforts me everytime I start to lament her absence.  Fanny Crosby envisioned it as love and joy which none of us here on earth can know.  

 

“For in him we live, move and have our being;…” Acts 17:28a 

I need the every hour, Most gracious LORD, No tender voice like Thine, Can peace afford.

Paul addressed the council in Athens regarding their religiosity.  Theirs was religion that had led them to even inscribe an altar TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.  The Apostle sets the record straight–“It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with. The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’”  Acts:17-22-28 MSG

I need Thee every hour;  Stay Thou near by.  Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.

As I have considered this hymn, I have recalled that it is also one that I have known from a child.  As I grew into my teen years and began to play it on the piano in Sunday School, and later in worship, I listened intently to the elders and the mothers of the Church whine this hymn out; it was one that always made me feel like they were actually praying the song. The lyrics and music together felt so much like a declaration of praise and adoration.  And the “seasoned saints” appeared to be crying out to God as though they were letting God know that they knew how badly they needed Him.  Those children and grandchildren of African slaves in America (most just one-two generations from slavery) that formed the core strength of the Church of my upbringing were acutely aware of their constant need for God.  Their singing, with or without accompaniment, was most often born of that awareness.  “In addition to religious songs composed in worship and at work and individually authored hymns, African Americans also incorporated Euro-American hymns into their worship.  Rather than retaining the Euro-American structure, hymns were reshaped or improvised in a folklike manner or “blackenized” as a means of contextualization.  To sing hymns as they were heard in formalized settings did not lend itself to the social and spiritual bonding required of Africans in diaspora.  The process of re-creating and improvising hymns was a way of making the music their own.” (Costen, Melva Wilson, African American Christian Worship, 1993).

THE ORIGIN OF I NEED THE EVERY HOUR:  In his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence claimed to be as close to God while working in the kitchen as when praying the chapel. The Lord, after all, is always near us, thus wherever we are is holy ground. That was the experience of Annie Hawks, a housewife and mother of three in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, Annie Sherwood had dabbled in poetry, her first verse being published when she was fourteen. In 1857, she married Charles Hawks and they established their home in Brooklyn, joining Dr. Robert Lowry’s Hanson Place Baptist Church.* With the good doctor’s encouragement, she began writing Sunday school songs for children, and he set many of them to music. ‘‘I Need Thee Every Hour’’ was written on a bright June morning in 1872. Annie later wrote, ‘‘One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, ‘I Need Thee Every Hour,’ were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me.’’ The next Sunday, Annie handed these words to Dr. Lowry, who wrote the tune and chorus while seated at the little organ in the living room of his Brooklyn parsonage. Later that year, it was sung for the first time at the National Baptist Sunday School Association meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and published in a hymnbook the following year. When Annie’s husband died sixteen years later, she found that her own hymn was among her greatest comforts. ‘‘I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity,’’ Annie wrote. ‘‘It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.’’   Some time after Charles’ death, Annie moved to Bennington, Vermont, to live with her daughter and son-in-law. All in all, she wrote over four hundred hymns during her eighty-three years, though only this one is still widely sung (Morgan, Robert.  Then Sings My Soul: 150 of The World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Thomas Nelson, 2003).

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

HOW THIS SONG HAS SHAPED MY LIFE:  This “hymn of improvisation” (a term coined and used by Wyatt Tee Walker to arbitrarily explain the “gospelizing” of hymns) is one of the earliest in my repertoire of hymns that once learned from the musical score, I had to learn to improvise or embellish in order to accompany my community of faith as they worshipped in song.  Accompanying them required listening…listening closely to the emotion and the sentiment of the congregation.  It also required feeling…feeling the rhythm of the elders and mothers as they sang.  It required embodiment…embodying the sacred reliance suggested by their expressions and voice inflections.  It required listening…listening to the tonal quality and nuances of a God-reliant people. Listening is required in order to improvise or embellish–in order to “make the music our own.”   (Walker, Wyatt Tee, Somebody’s Calling My Name:  Black Sacred Music and Social Change, Judson Press, 1979).

I need the every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

Listening was easy and transformative for me.  Hearing, on the other hand, was a bit more difficult.  (Hence, I was not one who played by ear naturally).  Hearing encompassed not only the ears, but the fingers also.  It is as though your fingers, coupled with your learned musical ability, hear better than your ears.  I could always connect with the congregation and what they were doing and feeling while singing, however, I was not always able to translate what I heard to my fingers.  In order to be able to pull off playing in the Church of my upbringing required sitting at the piano for hours just listening and trying to hear; it also required sitting at the piano with those who have the God-given ability to “hear it and play it.”  For me it alsor required recognizing my need for God’s assistance in using the talent He had blessed me to have.

I need Thee every hour; Most Holy One; Oh, Make me Thine indeed; Thou blessed Son.

There was a period in my life when God seemed to me to be THE UNKNOW-ABLE, UNTOUCHABLE GOD, mainly because some things in my life had not turned out the way I had planned or desired.  And I had really thought I was seeking to operate, for the most part, in His will for my life.  I had come to wonder whether or not God was really concerned about or involved in the minor details and routines of my life.  But as I began to mature in my faith and my understanding of His Word, I began to understand their singing of this song.  I was understanding and appreciating why the elders and mothers in the Church of my upbringing had sung with such fervor…such passionate longing and dependence.  I began recognizing just how hopeless and helpless I would be if God had not been holding me.  It was then that Paul’s sermon to the Athenians became a source of direction for me:

• directing me back to God for EACH and EVERY situation
• helping me once again trust His omnipotence
• directing me to realize that ALL my help comes from the LORD!
• Reminding me that every move I make, every breath I take is only by His grace–in Him we live, and move and have our being.

It may be that tonight you are in a place in which I am quite familiar.  You might be hurting.  You might be feeling alone and lonely.  Your heart my be broken.  You may have received horrible news or been unjustly treated by someone you trusted.  You may even feel that God does not care OR have time for your pitiful little problems and issues. And my brother, my sister, nothing could be farther from the truth!  He is present and He is just waiting for you to reach out to Him.  WHATEVER it is, my friend, you NEED The LORD.  And believe me, He wants to bless you!

Oh bless me now, My Savior, I come to Thee!

MY STORY…MY SONG…’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.               Proverbs 3:5-6  NRSV

I remember singing this song in Sunday School long before I could read a note to sing or play the piano.  I cannot fully explain why as a youngster this song captured my heart.  I now believe it had something to do with the sweetness of Jesus captured in the whole of the song.  Or maybe it was the sweetness that trusting Him brought to one’s life, even as a child.  In the church of my upbringing, we practiced believer’s baptism; I remember well the morning that I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior along with several of my Sunday School classmates.

The Sunday School lesson was from The Gospel of John, chapter 1, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan.  As a 7-year-old who had been in Church more-than-regularly for her brief years, I think I had known long before that Sunday that I wanted Jesus to be my personal Savior. I remember being taught way back then that one of the gifts of salvation was living in personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It was a gift that would actually transform the way you lived with an unseen God, as well as with people right here on earth.

That morning as we went down while the invitation was extended in Sunday School (yep, back then the invitation was extended in Sunday School, as well as in worship), I remember being asked if I believed Jesus was God’s Son?  Yes.  Do you believe Jesus died for all your sins and to restore you to right relationship with God?  Yes.  Do you want to be a Christian?  Yes.  I remember speaking my affirmation that was something like this, Jesus, I trust you to be my personal Savior.  Did I KNOW what I was saying?  I believe I did as much as a 7-year-old can.  Then, I imagine it was probably a trust like I had for my parents and grandparents and teachers and preachers and adult neighbors. And as much as I loved reading and listening to stories back then, I knew this story of Jesus’ baptism was not just a story.  I knew that the story of Jesus’ baptism was a sign that I could trust Him with and in my own…

Last week’s post was focused on the Creator-God as the Faithful One.  This week’s post is about TRUSTING JESUS, which, I believe, is one very important response to the faithfulness of God.  What does it mean to TRUST Jesus? To put it simply, let it suffice to say, TRUST in Jesus means that we have TOTAL CONFIDENCE in Him. As the years have progressed, the sweetness of trusting Jesus has become a fundamental reality in my life.  And, I have realized also, that Jesus (The Triune God) is the ONLY ONE in Whom we can place TOTAL CONFIDENCE! Sweet! (Let’s be clear about what we are talking about when we say sweet in relationship to this song and to Jesus.  Synonymous words like: the MOST delightful, the MOST pleasant, the MOST satisfying, are the very BEST that come to mind).

You see, God has called me to do things that are far greater than my abilities–and because He called me, I have learned that I can depend on Him to empower me with everything I need to accomplish His purposes for my life.  If that awareness ain’t sweet, then fat meat ain’t greasy! (LOL) And not only is the awareness sweet, so is the gift of trusting Him itself. It is sweet to have TOTAL CONFIDENCE IN THE ONLY ONE WHO IS FAITHFUL! 

THE ORIGIN OF ‘TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS:  How fitting that a missionary should write this hymn about faith and trust. Louisa M. R. Stead was born about 1850 in Dover, England, and became a Christian at age nine. She felt a burden to become a missionary in her teenage years. When she was 21 or so, she immigrated to the United States and attended a revival meeting in Urbana, Ohio. There the Lord deeply impressed her with a ringing missionary call. She made plans to go to China, but her hopes were dashed when her health proved too frail for the climate there. Shortly afterward, she married a man named Stead. But sometime around 1879 or 1880, Mr. Stead drowned off the coast of Long Island. Some accounts say that he saved a boy who was drowning, and other accounts say both Mr. Stead and the boy perished. Other records suggest it was his own four-year-old daughter, Lily, that he saved. In any event, the family’s beach-side picnic ended in tragedy for Louisa. Shortly afterward, taking little Lily, Louisa went to South Africa as a missionary, and it was there during those days she wrote, ‘‘’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.’’ Louisa served in South Africa for fifteen years, and while there she married Robert Wodehouse. When her health forced a return to America, Robert pastored a local Methodist Church. In 1900, her health restored, Robert and Louisa attended a large missionary conference in New York, and were so enthused by the experience they again offered themselves as missionary candidates. They arrived as Methodist missionaries in Rhodesia on April 4, 1901. ‘‘In connection with this whole mission there are glorious possibilities,’’ she wrote. ‘‘One cannot in the face of the peculiar difficulties help saying, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ but with simple confidence and trust we may and do say, ‘Our sufficiency is of God.’ ’’ Louisa retired in 1911, and passed away in 1917; but her daughter, Lily, married missionary D. A. Carson and continued the work for many years at the Methodist mission station in southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).  (Morgan, Robert, Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, 2003)

HOW THIS SONG HAS SHAPED MY LIFE

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word,
Just to rest upon His promise
And to know thus saith the LORD.

By now you are aware that a good part of my journey has been riddled with challenge, struggle and disappointment.  But ‘somehow’ those things have not been able to define me.  ALL BECAUSE somewhere in the depth of my being, no matter, how minute, there has been that simple, childlike, sweet trust in Jesus.  It was so infantile that even lacking understanding of how His Word came to be bound in a book (a persistent question I had as a child), I have found that Word to be totally trustworthy.  Because of that, even in times of doubt, I have found it to be quite natural to rest on His promises; something I guess I learned from my grandmother. Remember her example from an earlier post, reaching for the Word throughout the day, as though it was God communicating with and to her. She found her rest in His promises and now I’m finding more and more of mine there these days, as well.

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
‘Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

I believe the childlike understanding of believer’s baptism finds its affirmation in this verse.  Simply trusting the power of His blood to cleanse one from sin; to have an uncomplicated faith that would cause me to follow my Savior in baptism; later on the journey learning that He has thoroughly healed and cleansed me by that precious blood, which was part of the symbolism at my baptism.

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I came to Jesus as a clueless little seven-year-old, but somewhere deep inside I believed He came to save me from my ‘sin’ and to give me life and rest and joy and peace.  On this journey, I have had times of sinfulness, lifelessness, total unrest and times of joylessness and total chaos.  Today, as a senior person, I can attest that I know Him to be the One who saves me from my sin and even from myself; I know Him as my Life-giver, my Haven, my Joy, my Peace–right in the midst of life’s storms. He is my All in All!

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

This verse is the verse that has brought to a greater understanding the words of Mrs. Stead as I have journeyed through this life, trusting my LORD.  Many circumstances, positive and negative, have helped to shape me into what I hope is becoming more and more a faithful servant-disciple of our LORD.  I AM so glad that I learned to trust Jesus and am learning to trust Him even more…grateful that I know Him as Savior and Friend…grateful that I know He will never, ever leave me…NEVER!  The Psalmist recorded these words that speak my heart today:  I have been young and now I am older, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.  Psalm 37:25 HCSB  (“er” in older is mine)

I have come a long way toward fully recognizing and appreciating the sweetness of trusting Jesus…the sweetness of life lived totally conscious and aware of His Presence, His power, His provision, and His protection.  That is especially true when I meditate on the scripture that I have known from a child, as well.  Eugene Peterson, in the Message Paraphrase says it None like this: Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track (Proverbs 3:5-6).  There was no greater time of reliance on this admonition than when God called me to ordained ministry.  No elders in my family could or would affirm my call.  I wanted their approval so badly, however, they contended that it was “wrong for a woman to preach.”  Because of the trust relationship that had developed between Jesus and me via the Holy Spirit…rather than leaning on the resource of my elders (which I had always done, especially in important matters), I listened to the One Who had created and called me; I acknowledged Him as Supreme Director of my life.  After much prayer, reluctance, discernment, with much fear and trembling, I finally came to say an emphatic YES to my LORD!  And I must share that I had the privilege of seeing Him work acceptance of His way in the hearts of each of those elders before they returned to Him.  Today, I shudder to think how empty my life would be had I not gone against the grain and obediently answered His call!  How many opportunities I would have missed!  How void of the many wonderful relationships I have been blessed to form! The numerous times God used this simple (oftentimes clueless) ragamuffin vessel to be a transformative voice or witness in the midst of a variety of situations!  Sweet!

I declare, God can be trusted!

The refrain of our hymn says:

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

What I can tell you today is this…in this life, there will be times when you feel like you cannot go on…matter of fact, you may feel like you do not WANT to go on.  I am a witness, no matter how hard the trial, how tough the challenge, how dark the hour…it is sweet to trust in Jesus… Trusting Him frees me from worry about ANY and EVERY thing…I’m just seeking grace to TRUST HIM EVEN MORE!

You know what I have found that makes trusting Jesus so sweet?  When life, from a human vantage point, is at its very worse, if I will take a deep breath and exhale…and simply whisper a reminder to myself and a prayer to my LORD…LORD, I trust YOU with the whole of my life!  I guarantee a sweetness and a calm will encompass you, and before you realize it, your perspective will be different.

Why don’t you try it right now…

Since I was led to share my grandmother’s and my mother’s favorite hymns as launching pads to share how sacred songs have influenced and are influencing my life, I had a slight struggle with where to go to next.  There are so many hymns that have shaped my life–so many that God and I use to keep my relationship with Him fluid and growing, even to this very day.

If I had to choose one that has consistently and persistently shaped my life of faith, it is this one–Great is Thy Faithfulness.  It is not about me, the creature; but rather it is about the Creator-God and this attribute of His that I have known, depended on and trusted most of my life.  Through the many storms of my life, His unchanging faithfulness, has continually carried me, whether I was aware of it or not..

This hymn has been labeled “a hymn for Ordinary Christians,” largely because the author referred to himself as “just an old shoe.” He was just a simple man with simple faith in an extraordinarily faithful God! I believe ordinary would describe most of us, if we are honest.

Ordinary Christians need to know of God’s unchanging character and unfailing compassions; we need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness in maintaining the order of His universe; and we need the comfort of God’s faithfulness in forgiving our sins, providing strength for today and hope for tomorrow. All leading to the great and robust crescendo of the words that Jeremiah coined in Lamentations–Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see, All I have needed Thy hand has provided…

It is a hymn that we did not sing in the church of my upbringing; it is one I actually learned as a young adult.  However, it speaks volumes over how and why my ordinary life continually finds its “extraordinary essence” in Him!

My Story…My Song…GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God, My Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a Peace that endureth,
Thine own dear Presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

CHORUS:
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see,
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy Faithfulness, LORD unto me.—-Public Domain

THE ORIGIN OF GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS:  Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching there. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Methodist ministry at age 36. He served as a Methodist minister for a year, but ill health made it impossible for him to continue. He moved to Vineland, New Jersey, where he opened an insurance office.
Always interested in poetry, Chisholm wrote hundreds of poems during his lifetime. He was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23 to write the text for “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Those verses read, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Chisholm experienced that faithfulness. He suffered ill health most of his adult life, and never made much money –– but he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”
Chisholm sent the words to “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to his friend, William Runyan, and Runyan wrote the music for this hymn. Runyan was a friend of Dr. Will Houghton, the president of Moody Bible Institute, and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” soon became Houghton’s favorite. Dr. Houghton invited George Beverly Shea, an unknown singer at the time, to sing hymns on the Institute’s radio station. Shea, of course, included Dr. Houghton’s favorite hymn in his repertoire.
Billy Graham, then a student at Wheaton College, became familiar with George Beverly Shea (and this hymn) through those radio broadcasts, and invited Shea to become part of his ministry. It was through their work that this hymn became popular internationally.
Even though he suffered ill health for most of his adult life, Chisholm lived to the ripe old age of 94. During his later years, he lived in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a Methodist camp meeting town, where he died in 1960.  (www.lectionary.org, –– Copyright 2007, Richard Niell Donovan)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG
From a child I have had a love affair with the Church.  I always loved going and worshipping and being involved!  Most of my life has been spent as a “faithful member” according to the standards of human church leadership.  However, there were days (in my young adult years) that I found myself being in greater relationship with the Church than I was with The God of The Church.

I rarely ever missed and served religiously; I even made it a requirement for my children.  In retrospect I can tell you that it was a “form of godliness,” but in sheer ignorance, I was denying the authentic power of God to be realized in my life.  I loved the LORD, I was saved, but I was living my Christian life in my own power, under my own authority and my focus was getting what I wanted when I wanted it and how I wanted it.  Life was all about my pleasure and my needs first, and even though I was usually sitting on a piano stool in the church, God was not my priority!  My relationship with Him, other than when I was at the Church, consisted of me telling God what I wanted and needed and expected of Him and pouting when things didn’t come as requested.  (I did have sense enough to thank Him when I got my way and to say grace before I consumed His blessings.)

Now, let me hasten to say that as I have begun maturing in my faith, I have come to believe that some of my old behavior falls under the category of youthful folly.  The Bible speaks of it.  And, my point is this:  our faithful God even uses our ignorance, our youthful folly, our carnality, our disobedience, our sin, our feeble attempts at righteousness, our self-centeredness, even our religiosity to draw us closer and closer to HIS PURPOSE for creating us.  How, I thank Him for His steadfast love and faithfulness, even in my wanton-ness and wandering–my blatant UNFAITHFULNESS.  

I always loved the Bible; I think it was because of the fascination I had with my grandmother’s ability to read it and understand it, though she was limited by her education.  But she did it several times a day EVERY day.  It was as though she was meeting God in it.  It was like He was speaking to her, solving her dilemmas, giving her direction or something.  It was strange to me as a child, but it piqued my interest.  I was drawn to it.

As I began to long for more than what Church was giving me, I returned to the example of my grandmother.  And though I had to report for work very early in the morning, many of my nights, after finishing caring for my children, was spent devouring His Word.  My love affair with the Church (as we know it) began to diminish, but my relationship with Jesus began to soar and broaden and deepen–ALL BECAUSE OF HIS FAITHFULNESS TO ME!   Listen to Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations 3:19-24:    “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him'” (Lamentations 3:19-24).

Nearly 75 years after Mr. Chisholm coined this great hymn about the incredible faithfulness of our God, an anointed choir director-mother-pastor’s wife penned words that very well could have been written by me, for they are MY WORDS!  Carol Cymbala speaks of God’s faithfulness past tense as she is in the midst of one of the greatest storms of her life.  Her words describe my sentiments and my journey perfectly.  She said:

In my moments of fear,
Through every pain every tear,
There’s a God Who’s been faithful to me;
When my strength was all gone,
When my heart had no song,
Still in love He’s proved faithful to me;
Every word He’s promised is true.
What I thought was impossible I see my God do.

Chorus
He’s been faithful, faithful to me.
Looking back, His love and mercy I see.
Though in my heart I have questioned-
Even failed to believe, yet He’s been faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away–the many times I could not pray,
Still my God–He was faithful to me.
The days I spent so selfishly
Reaching out for what pleased me,
Even then God was faithful to me.
Every time I come back to Him, He is waiting with open arms
And I see once again

Chorus
He’s been faithful, faithful to me
Looking back, His love and mercy I see,
Though in my heart I have questioned–
Even failed to believe, yet He’s been faithful, faithful to me.—————————————————Carol Cymbala

As I have traced the course of my life to this point, I see with great clarity the power of His Faithfulness to me!  I have had numerous moments of fear; I have shed buckets of tears; there have been days when my strength was all gone and my heart had no song, but as I look back over my life, I can truly say, what I thought was impossible, I’ve seen God do!  I cannot begin to count the many times that my heart looked away or the many times I could not or would not pray. If I tried to share the days that were spent in selfish pursuit of some worthless aim, seeking for something or someone to please me, only to be left broken-hearted and hurt again, words would fail.  But every time, I knew I could run back to Him for shelter, comfort and help; and guess what, every time He was standing right there with open arms.  I’m talking about a FAITHFUL GOD!  A Faithful God, who, never left my side even though I was forever wandering…

There is someone just like I was 35 plus years ago at Church every Sunday out of habit more than sincere follow-ship, reading this.  You have not yielded your life totally to Jesus…I write this one for you with tears streaming as I write.  Please hear me.  When I fully returned to The Faithful One I committed every member of my body to Him and pledged that “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)  That is my daily goal!

My prayer is that my story and my song might be the impetus for you to realize “Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”  And when you realize it, surrender completely to it!  Your life will be blessed; He will make it brand new,  I GUARANTEE!!

 

It has been said or at least, implied that certain traits and habits in our ancestry skip generations.  Whether it is fact or myth, I think that is the case as I’ve been thinking about this post.  In my physical appearance, I look a lot like my mother and have several of her traits, however, there are several other things about me that I notice are more like my grandmother than my mother.

One such example is this:  my natural inclination toward being openly expressive in worship; both of my grandmothers (my maternal one, that you met in the first post, and my paternal one) were shouters. That is, when the Holy Spirit was moving, those sisters got moving with Him…“they just couldn’t hold their peace”… “couldn’t help themselves…”  They would be jumping with hands and voices raised  OR holy dancing gracefully and soulfully down the aisle.  And those two sisters could go! Often, they set the tone of what we called “the Spirit was high today” OR “we had some Church today.”  That was an almost universal African American understanding of “high church.”   (see note at end of post)

This is My Story…This is MY Song…DIGNIFIED PRAISE

At the opposite end of the spectrum is my mother; without the slightest exaggeration, she was the total opposite!  She was NOT the shouting kind of woman! I think a part of her even saw those expressions of the “Spirit’s movement”  as undignified!  And to be totally honest I must admit, sometimes it does look like dignity-lost.  (Mother would have been totally content in some of the places I have served since her ascent to Glory–quiet and quick!) But because I grew up with not one, but two “Holy Ghost-filled shouting Baptist grandmothers,” I grew up believing that sometimes we just cannot explain how the Spirit of God moves and works.  My seminary education would later try to explain it away as something called syncretism, which, simply put, is to say that human nature tends to fuse indigenous beliefs and practices about God with a differing and totally foreign belief system about the same.  While, at its core I believe there are remnants of who African people were before the Westward diaspora, there is something vastly unique about African American Christian Worship.

My revered friend and colleague, Dr. William “Bobby” McClain, Professor Emeritus at Wesley Theological Seminary and author of “Come Sunday:  The Liturgy of Zion,” says and I quote, “Black worship is not merely a replica of white worship nor the reenactment of African tribal rituals, but a third entity created to offer refulgence to a people weary at heart. Its liturgy and theology are derived from the cultural and religious experience of a people struggling to appropriate the meaning of God and human life in the midst of suffering.  This tradition encouraged celebrating the power to survive and affirming life with all of its contradictory realities.  Spontaneity and improvisations are necessary corollaries in such a tradition.”  (McClain, 1990)

I boast (in the LORD) of two grandmothers of African descent, who somewhere STRONG in their DNA, had the inclination toward African religious beliefs about the spirit world.  They were both offspring of parents or grandparents who were part of “slavery’s invisible church.”   They were themselves part of the foundation of what we now call the African American Church.

My mother, as different from her mother as she seemed to me as a child, most always sat quietly in church; every now and then she might nod or smile or on rare occasion, wipe away a tear.  A choir member, she loved singing in the choir and whenever she led a song it was totally dignified–she did it with all perfect enunciation and musical competence, and absolutely no outward show of emotion or expression.  Strange to me, because I loved the dancing and whooping and shouting…and I wondered, why my mother didn’t.   What I have learned as I witnessed her live life to the fullest is what the prophet Isaiah records in 30:15:  For thus saith the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: but you would not.  My mother did.  Even in her dying, it was in quietness and confidence that we witnessed her strength.  She was quiet, dignified, reserved, classy, but a REAL disciple.  Her example prepared me for the places God would send me to serve.

What I am still learning for myself from her favorite hymn’s impact on her life and witness is confidence and firm-ness in that confidence…truly Blessed Assurance…that Jesus is hers…Blessed Assurance…that life with Him on earth is only a foretaste of Glory Divine…Blessed Assurance…that she is indeed an heir of salvation…Blessed Assurance…she is a purchase of God…Blessed Assurance…she is born of His Spirit…Blessed Assurance…she is washed in His blood!  (While I am convinced that my mother had the assurance of all these things , I am likewise convinced that they are true to all who would dare trust God.)

My mother understood with certainty that the Spirit of the Living God “lived, moved and had his being” in her.  Her confidence was not based on any feelings or outward expressions.  Her assurance was founded upon the Word of God and His faithfulness to keep His Word.  She knew that she did not have to be like her mother or either of her sisters or anyone else in her expressions of her love for and fellowship with Christ.  Mother knew that she didn’t have to dance or shout or lose her dignity to be totally authentic in her walk with Christ.  She lived and died “being confident of this very thing, that he who had begun good work in her would perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1:6) Mother lived and died with that blessed assurance…

Blessed Assurance was written in 1873 by Frances J. “Fanny Crosby.”  Here is the story of the penning of that hymn:

BLESSED ASSURANCE: “One of Fanny’s dearest friends was Phoebe Knapp. While Fanny lived in the Manhattan slums and worked in rescue missions, Phoebe lived in the Knapp Mansion, a palatial residence in Brooklyn, where she entertained lavishly. She was an extravagant dresser with a wardrobe full of elaborate gowns and diamond tiaras. Her music room contained one of the finest collections of instruments in the country, and Fanny was a frequent houseguest. One day in 1873, while Fanny was staying at the Knapp Mansion, Phoebe said she had a tune she wanted to play. Going to the music room, she sat at the piano and played a new composition of her own while the blind hymnist listened. Fanny immediately clapped her hands and exclaimed, ‘‘Why, that says, ‘Blessed Assurance!’ ’’ She quickly composed the words, and a great hymn was born. Many years later, D. L. Moody was preaching in New York at the 23rd Street Dutch Reformed Church. The Moody/Sankey meetings had popularized Fanny Crosby’s hymns around the world and had made the blind poetess a household name. But whenever she attended a Moody/Sankey meeting, she refused to be recognized, disavowing acclaim. This day the church was so crowded she could find nowhere to sit. Moody’s son, Will, seeing her, offered to find her a seat. To her bewilderment, he led her onto the platform just as the crowd was singing ‘‘Blessed Assurance.’’ Moody, Sr., jumped to his feet, raised his hand, and interrupted the singing. ‘‘Praise the Lord!’’ he shouted. ‘‘Here comes the authoress!’’ Fanny took her seat amid thunderous ovation, humbly thanking God for making her a blessing to so many.”  (Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul:  150 of the Worlds Greatest Hymns Stories, 2003)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG:

BLESSED ASSURANCE: It is ironic, I believe, that as I share with you my mother’s favorite hymn, I am bombarded by memories of how much I have detested having to play it.  Not because I don’t love the lyrics; quite the contrary, but I detested the musical score; of all the hymns I had to play as a young pianist, it is the one in which I felt totally incompetent trying to play.  My piano teacher insisted that we learn what was written on the page and I could do that well.  But at church improvisation, to some degree, was the norm for the singing congregation.  I could not transpose very well and I could not improvise anything in the key of D–the key signature for Blessed Assurance in every hymnal I have ever seen.  To be totally candid, I still am not thrilled playing it for congregational singing because every congregation knows it and likes to sing it in the key of D.  I have run across a few excellent, improvising soloists who prefer it in a different key, but I have not had the pleasure of ever playing it for a congregation in any key but D.

Of all the things–my mother’s favorite hymn has always caused me sweaty palms, (BTW, I don’t think I ever disclosed that to her, even when she had me play it for her at home).  Every time the hymn, Blessed Assurance, came up and I was at the keyboard, I was stripped of my self-confidence…I always felt like “I can’t play this song.”

But do you hear the real irony there?  The dynamics of playing Blessed Assurance have caused me great angst and frustration over the years while I have often turned to the lyrics for consolation.  Could it be for me, and maybe for you, a reminder that God has given His blessed assurance to those who follow Him in EVERY circumstance of life, no matter how trivial the circumstance might be? You see, regardless to how nervous it made me, I have managed to play it hundreds of times over the years, all three verses and the chorus at least four times--all because of the grace of His blessed assurance.  

What “key” is causing you angst today?  Your “key” may not be a literal keyboard note–it might be a real life situation that seeks to strip you of your confidence–not only in yourself–but, most importantly, in the One whom you have trusted to always “work all things together for your good, because you love Him and are called by Him.”  Hear me clearly, I have been talking about musical notes and compositions and musical scores, but I, too, have had my share of real life situations…situations unrelieved by neither a shout nor a whoop; it was in quietness and in confidence that I found strength for the journey!  Those moments of stillness and calm in the Presence of the One who can always be trusted…the only One in whom I have placed ALL my confidence.  I have gotten through some painful, deep terrains of life just like I have gotten through playing that wonderfully awesome hymn, Blessed Assurance, so many times–by the grace of His blessed assurance!  (and, my friend, you can, too!)

My mother spent a lot of time in the kitchen and throughout the house creating a home for us, but the most consistent image of her in my mind is on her knees by the side of her bed…every night…not for a few minutes, but for long periods of time…in quietness and in confidence!  These are a few of the valuable lessons I learned watching and reflecting on the life and witness of my dignified mother!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.  (Public Domain)

Note:  In my experience with the African American church, high church is when the Spirit is moving and people are expressing their response to His movement in an overt and often loud and genuflecting manner.  On the other hand, churches deriving from the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches tend to call high church those moments when the classical music is flowing, the lecture is quick and the liturgy is perfect English literature.

Having recently “officially retired” from a lifetime of ministry in the church (first as a musician and Bible teacher and later as ordained clergy), I often spend time with the LORD in reflection mode.  I believe the Holy Spirit has me to reflect on the paths I have already travelled in order that I might learn from them for the dual purpose of 1) sharing what I have learned and 2) preparing me for the road that yet lies before me.

I have been led to share these reflections with those who might be interested in gleaning some small nugget from what I have learned (and am still learning) about living this gift, the present, the gift we call LIFE.  And I think of my life in terms of not just an ordinary, mundane existence, but rather as a life “showered with grace” in order that that life might ‘shower’ other lives.

I am also led to share from MY vantage point–the perspective of a single parent, a church musician, a Bible study teacher, a Women’s prayer retreat coordinator/leader, and an ordained pastor/Preacher woman of African descent…in other words,

This is MY Story…This is MY Song…   

Let’s consider what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “. . . I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 AKJV).

Timothy’s grandmother had this faith and was able to pass it on to her daughter, who then passed it on to Timothy. In this example, the faith of God was passed down through at least three generations.

My friend and highly respected colleague, Safiyah Fosua, aka Andrea Bishop, says in her devotional book, Mother Wit, and I quote: “whenever I think of my grandmomma, I am reminded to read my Bible.  And whenever I talk to my momma, Jesus’ name always seems to come up in the conversation.  Living in the faith has become an expected norm, because of the faith of my foremothers.  I, too, am a mother.  I pray that my faith will also rub off on my children in permanent ways. As parents, we can only guess about those aspects of our faith that might impact our children.” (Fosua, Safiyah, Mother Wit:  365 Meditations for African-American Women, Abingdon Press, 1996)

As a child, matter of fact, as a fetus, I was taken to church.  For as long as I can remember the church has been an integral part of my life.  In my formative years, the church of my upbringing was across the street from our home (and remains there to this day), so there was no excuse for not getting there…on the regular, as was the discipline, example, and mandate of my parents and grandmother.

I was privileged to be born into a loving family that sought to live an active faith in THE ONE TRUE GOD.  He was truly an honored guest in our home.  My mother was the youngest child, so when she and my dad married, they lived with my widow-grandmother; and when they built their first home, they brought my grandmother with them. My grandmother lived with us all the years I lived in my parents’ home and beyond until God called her home. (Back then sociologists coined that living arrangement an extended family). I grew up, in essence with three parents, however, my grandmother only made decisions when she was the present adult, which was most of the time, because both of my parents worked. One of the strong characteristics in my family was faith in God. In the church of my upbringing, there is one woman who stands out as the mother.  She was the spiritual mother to everyone in this church, matter of fact, the neighborhood.  I remember resenting everybody referring to my “Mama” (the name we called her) as “Mama Taylor.”  I now understand that was part of God’s intended purpose for our little church home and for my grandmother during that period of time.  And the fact that God chose to form my faith in the cocoon of this PERFECTLY imperfect home across the street from the church is, to me, indicative of the Sovereignty of our God.  What I believe God wants me to convey is that if I had been given the opportunity to choose my family, I would have chosen the one I was given.

It has been said that the Apostle Paul understands that there is no inherent conflict between personal and communal aspects of faith. In other words, No human being is born an orphan. We are all born into a family. The Bantus of South Africa say, Umuntu, ngamuntu, ngabantu—a person is a person because of other persons. None of us is here today without someone else having paved the way for us. That’s why Paul affirms Timothy’s faith by recalling his first community of faith—his PERFECTLY imperfect home. His grandmother and his mother–Lois and Eunice.  And, even though the community of faith that is the focus of this post is my family of origin, you will see in the weeks and months and years ahead that because of that formative community of faith, I (and my siblings) was introduced to the expanded community of faith called the Church, the Body of Christ.

The impetus for sharing this pathway is song…sacred song…music that has helped to shape my life in grace.  I have chosen to begin by lifting the songs that make up the “hymnody of the Church.”  In an age that we have heard coined as the Post-Christian age, we see the Church giving up so many traditions and customs.  The very things that have survived and helped us, as God’s people, to relate to Him and His will in our lives.  We now experience them being eliminated from the practices of worship and teaching in the Church. While I realize that some things are simply matters of preference and have no authentic connection to “worship in spirit and in truth,” I contend that hymns are not in this category.  And therefore, I find this elimination sad and disheartening.  To that end, I write…

I think it fitting to begin this path with the hymn that was favored by my grandmother.  Her favorite hymn, Close to Thee, has likewise become a favorite of mine.

Allow me to briefly share the origin of this hymn; the lyrics were penned by the late Frances Jane ‘Fanny’ J. Crosby  (March 24, 1820-February 12, 1915).  (Incidentally, she was born exactly 70 years to the day before my grandmother).

“Silas Vail was a hatter by trade, but writing tunes for gospel songs was a steady avocation. There are two slightly different stories as to the origin of this lovely song. Ira Sankey, in his volume My Life and the Story of the Gospel Songs recalls: ‘Silas J. Vail, having composed this tune, brought it to Fanny Crosby, and requested her to write the words for it. As he was playing it for her on the piano, she said, ‘That refrain says “Close to Thee, close to Thee.”’ Mr. Vail said that was true, and it was agreed that it should be a hymn entitled Close to Thee.’  But the author herself originally called the song “Christ, the Portion of His People.” And Fanny Crosby, in her book Memories of Eighty Years, says:  ‘Toward the close of a day in the year 1874, I was sitting in my room thinking of the nearness of God through Christ as the constant companion of my pilgrim journey, when my heart burst out with the words.’  It’s possible that there is a way these two stories are both correct to some degree. Then again, Fanny having written between 8,500 and 9,000 songs, sometimes even forgot that she’d written a particular piece. But that is not as important as the beautiful wedding of heartwarming words with a fitting tune.” (Cottrill, Robert, Wordwise Hymns:  Hymns their History and Meaning, 2012)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG:

CLOSE TO THEE:  As a pianist, many songs that I have played in the Church have had a very classical music style on the score.  Serving in the church of my origin, this particular song was in a favorite key in the Gospel Pearls and in that tradition, it was sung and played as a slightly longer-metered hymn which the pianist embellished, causing it to sound different than when played directly from the page.  Many songs that  we will peruse here will have musical scores that are not my favorites, however, this song, Close to Thee, is both lyrically and musically among my favorites.  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

In my memory, I can hear my grandmother from the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove or from the ironing board in the den, singing these words:   All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee. It was usually followed by a “Yes Sir–please Master, let me walk close to Thee.”   That memory is so vivid!  You see, even though my parents were young and busy with trying to provide in those early days, Jesus was always part of the conversation in our home, and then, largely because of my grandmother.

On my journey this song has served as a reminder for me to stay connected to my Savior.  This song has shaped the most important relationship in my life…my personal relationship with my Savior!  Even during those times when I was seeking other gods, I was always drawn back to the arms of my LORD and Savior!  He stayed close to me, even during those times when I was not seeking closeness to Him!

If I have had any success, especially in relationships in this life, it is in direct correlation of how close my relationship with Christ was at the time.  There have been those times where it was evident in my personal relationships that my relationship with Christ was suffering.   We love because God first loved us.  If anyone says, I love God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t love a brother or sister who can be seen can’t love God, who can’t be seen.  This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to love God ought to love their brother and sister also (1 John 4:19-21 CEB).

On so many levels, Mama modeled staying close to Christ for me.  With only a seventh grade education, she understood the importance of being close to Christ.  I was privy to her reading the Bible at different intervals throughout the day and was aware that she was comprehending what she read because she was able to tell you what the LORD was saying to her through His Word.  It was as though she picked it up whenever she needed to hear from Him!   Oftentimes throughout the day we would witness her just talking to Jesus or praising Him with a song or a shout.  I marveled at her ability, and have come to realize that it was the Holy Spirit revealing the wonders of God to her, but it was because she stayed close!  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

I am aware of how many more advantages I have been blessed to have than she had and I realize that more is required of me because of that.  As I continue maturing in my faith, I know beyond any shadow of doubt that each and every day must be spent seeking His Presence and even, being aware of His Presence when I am not seeking it–knowing that Christ alone is my portion–EVERYTHING I NEED.  Thanks, Mama, for teaching me the importance of staying close to the LORD…for teaching me that living daily close to Jesus is all about transcendence in my thoughts and actions.  It is Heaven right here on earth!!! Living close to Jesus helps me see all people, situations, and relationships with His eyes–His heart!!  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

Thou my everlasting portion,
More than friend or life to me,
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
Refrain 1:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.

Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.
Refrain 2:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.

Lead me through the vale of shadows,
Bear me o’er life’s fitful sea;
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
Refrain 3:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee. (PUBLIC DOMAIN)